Candle in the Wind
by Anzunico
Summary: Haruna Aoki deals with the decision she made 100 years ago but wonders if it was really worth it, considering the fragility of it all. What happened, happened, and now she must find a way to deal with life's bearings as they come, even if it means getting involved in ways she didn't expect... Shinji/OC
1. When Life Gives You Lemons

******_Disclaimer_: Bleach; the story, characters, setting, and plot belong to Tite Kubo. I do no own any of it. I only own my OC.**

**A/N: So here it is! I've been spending lots of time trying to figure out this story; the general plot, how to fit in my OC, how I wanted everything to unfold, all the kinks, etc. and I still feel like there's a lot to work out. But I wanted to post this before I started working on other chapters just to see where it would go, so here it is! I'm not new when it comes to writing fanfiction, but it has been quite a while so please forgive me if I'm a bit slow getting back on the horse...I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think! Note: This is a Shinji/OC story, yes, but he will not be featured for another couple of chapters. I want to establish my OC first and foremost before I get to all the good stuff.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: When Life Gives You Lemons**

If there's anything I learned in my lifetime in this existence is that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. You know, when you're giving a bad situation, turn it into a good one. Yeah, I also learned that it's a pile of bullshit and not as easy as everyone makes it seem.

I keep telling myself that whenever I'm hit with a particular feeling of loathing and bitterness as I'm forced to sit through another class learning useless nonsense and trying not to stab myself in the eyes with my own fingers.

"That's all for today, class! Remember, your assignments are due tomorrow! Have a good evening, and don't be little delinquents, even though most of you are!" Ms. Ochi exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm.

I sighed and slung my book bag over my shoulder. This whole ordeal was pointless, really. I mean, the only thing I've learned in my short while of being at school was that kids were really stupid and a 6 1/2-hour school day is a lot longer than it seems. I sighed again, 'When life gives you lemons...make lemonade and drink the damn the thing. Or beat the shit out the guy that's making you make the lemonade. I hate lemonade!'

I mean, how were you supposed to make lemonade when the lemons you're given have already become rotten? Would you like to drink foul-tasting lemonade? No, right?!

"Hey, Haru-Chan!" I looked over my shoulder and saw Orihime Inoue waving excitedly at me.

"Hey Orihime. What's up?"

"Wanna come over tonight? I'm making special taiyaki style ramen with wasabi and honey! It'll be great!" She smiled brightly and pumped her fist in the air.

I cringed. The poor girl. How is she still alive with all the science experiments she makes and eats everyday? Is that why her boobs were so big? "Um, thanks, but I have to head home to do...stuff. Maybe next time..." Or never...I'm okay with never.

Orihime's face dropped, but her bright smile was lit up again. "That's okay! Next time is fine! I'll see ya tomorrow!" She bounded out the door, her vibrant hair flouncing about. As naïve, air-headed, and slightly annoying as she was, she was sweet and pure-hearted, so it made it really difficult to dislike her. But those big boobs were kind of helping. I didn't know if I was jealous or thoroughly impressed.

I walked past Ichigo on my way out the building, his bright orange hair glaring at me like a distress signal.

"See ya tomorrow, Aoki." He said with a nonchalant nod.

"Yeah, you too, Kurosaki." I replied with equal vigor.

Ah, Ichigo Kurosaki, the star of the show.

* * *

So apparently being the 'star or the show' required me to basically stalk the boy. This was getting really tiring for me. Playing babysitter while making sure the baby doesn't know was a lot of work. A lot more work than I was willing to put in, but here I am...

"Now go and apologize or else the next time the flowers will be for you!" Ichigo threatened, his face glowering.

The three boys he was beating up all stood up and started wimpering before scuttling off like little ants. Tch. Wimps.

I stood quietly behind a wall while he and the female spirit he was defending exchanged a couple of words.

"After all," He turned around and waved his hand, "You deserve to rest in peace." Ichigo continued walking before stopping abruptly and looking over his shoulder. "So you gonna stand there forever?"

Huh, and here I was thinking I was hella sneaky. "You have good senses. But also a really loud, booming voice that tends to attract attention."

Ichigo smirked and waited till I walked up beside him. "Heh, I guess I do. So is there a reason you're following me home?"

We continued walking, side-by-side, and I noticed how his steps got smaller and slower. ...Was I slow, too? It's my old age, I tell ya. "Don't flatter yourself, Kurosaki. You may be attractive, but I have no interest in you. This happens to be my way home too."

Ichigo gave me a side-eye and quirked a brow. "Where do you live anyway?" He asked, ignoring my previous quip.

I stared straight ahead, "Uh...here, actually." Urahara's shop came into view, and it left me thinking if it was a good idea to let him know that I lived with the crazy old coot.

"You live with Mr. Hat n' Clogs?" Ichigo's eyes widened with surprise.

I sighed and nodded.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed slightly, but his face soon returned to its usual stoniness. "Huh...okay. You're a strange one, Aoki."

I'm the strange one? For living with Urahara? ...I guess that makes sense. But he's the one who can talk to spirits.

...Well, I can too. So I guess I'm doomed for a life filled with strange happenings and crazy people. I was waiting for the day where the clowns and gypsies would show up and we would pack up and live as circus travelers. I really wouldn't be surprised.

Ichigo and I departed ways and I headed inside the shop, ignoring Jinta being the little shit he was and hoping Ururu would one day learn to stand up for herself.

"Ah! Welcome home, Haru-chan! How was school today?" Urahara's unpleasantly pleasant voice rang out.

I grunted, "It would have been better if I didn't actually have to go..."

Urahara waved his hand in front of his face, dismissing my suggestion. His wide grin was hidden behind his fan.

"Now, now, don't be like that. Education is a wonderful thing! And you're protecting people while you're at it! Doesn't that make you feel nice?"

I held back a cynical chuckle, "Ha, that's what you're calling it? I'm stalking the poor soul, for crying out loud!"

Urahara's grin didn't falter, "Well if you think of it like _that_. You should feel proud that I'm entrusting you with such a task! You'll be fine, Haru-chan. Also, keep an eye out for Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado, if you can~."

I straightened up, "What, why? They're fine, and quit asking me to play babysitter!"

"In due time, Haru-chan. Don't worry about it!~" Urahara let out an amused chuckle. I, however, was not amused.

I swear, I should be charging for my unwilling yet excellent services. Thinking about it, I would be filthy rich. How long has this been going on? Fifte-

"Also, tomorrow night I'll need you to go over to Ichigo's house and just..watch over him." Urahara piped in, interrupting my thoughts.

I groaned and rolled my eyes, "Who am I?! Edward Cullen?! Urahara, I swear to god-!"

"I'm not asking for too much, Haru-chan. You don't need to go inside or deal with any sort of interaction. Just keep an eye out for him and make sure everything goes smoothly. He'll be getting a visitor..." Urahara trailed off, looking into the distance.

I stared at him in disbelief. Did he have to be so cryptic? "And who might this visitor be? And what do mean 'goes smoothly'? What needs to go smoothly? Dammit, Urahara!"

Urahara's smile returned and he jovially waved his hand in front of me, "I'm surprised you haven't sensed it by now. Either way, you'll find out soon! It's not much, really. Ichigo will just be...discovering some new things about himself."

I cringed, "...Wow, Urahara that's disgusting, even for you."

"Oh hush, you know that's not what I meant. So I'm guessing you're agreeing to all of this? Hmm?" Urahara leaned in close to my face, grinning from ear to ear.

I shoved him away, "Do I really have a choice?"

"Nope! Thanks, Haru-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah..." I muttered as I walked into my room.

When life gives you lemons, right? Yeah, well so far those lemons have been too damn sour. I knew Ichigo was a 'special circumstance', considering his family and all, that's why I never really questioned Urahara when he asked me fifteen years ago to keep an eye out for the boy. I'm not gonna lie, watching over him and learning more about him made me develop a certain level of protectiveness over him; I wanted to make sure he was alright, even though he could take care of himself well enough. Again, that's why I'm not pushing Urahara when he keeps asking me of all these things. And if that doesn't solidify my crazy stalker behavior, I don't know what will.

So...when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Reminiscing over the past 100 or so years, and the apprehension I was suddenly feeling over the possibility of what might happen tomorrow left me thinking what the hell kind of lemonade life wanted me to make.


	2. Shinigami, With A Hint Of Strawberry

******_Disclaimer_: Bleach; the story, characters, setting, and plot belong to Tite Kubo. I do no own any of it. I only own my OC.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Shinigami, With A Hint Of Strawberry**

The next evening arrived quicker than I hoped. I took the liberty of grabbing a couple of chocolate bars from the shelves of the shop before I headed out. Consider it my payment for partaking in an impromptu evening stalker session. I needed my sustenance, after all; stalking takes a lot out of you.

"Hey! Aoki!" Jinta's screech echoed through my ears. "Aoki! Make me some ramen!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Make it yourself, lazy ass. I have stuff to do."

He scowled, "What, stalking Kurosaki? Do that later! Make me ramen!"

I turned around and poked him on his large forehead, "And I said make it yourself! I don't have time to listen to your rude demands, Jinturd!"

His scowl deepened and he swatted my hand away, "It's JinTA, you stupid old lady!"

I scoffed, "Stupid? At least I'm going to school and somehow contributing to society. All you're doing is sitting on your ass wasting your life!"

Jinta crossed his arms and looked away defiantly, "Psh! I hardly consider what you're doing a contribution to society! Everything you learn just passes through that empty head of yours. You're no help to anyone! All you do is waste space..." He looked at me and narrowed his eyes, "Anyway, don't you have a job to do? Go do it, and try not to die!"

I smirked and patted him on the head, "Aww Jinta, are you worried about me? Won't you like it if I were dead? One less human being to interact with, and with your level of intelligence we don't want your brain, or lack thereof, to overwork itself."

He scoffed and smacked my hand off, "Tch, yeah right! No! I don't want you die because who'll make my ramen then?!" And with that he stormed off.

Aww. I think that was a compliment. It's the best I'll get from him, so I'll take it. And with that thought, I left to go perform my saintly duties, or something.

* * *

Ichigo was a boring teenager. He went to bed earlier than 9:00 PM, that can't be normal. I realized that I was standing in a nearby bush, staring up at his window, which was dark since he just turned the lights off. As I stood in a nearby bush, staring up at his window. Now I was starting to scare myself. This was getting out of hand. I should get help. It was when I was debating various methods and means of psychiatric help that I noticed the sudden emergence of a new reiatsu. I looked up and saw a shinigami standing on Ichigo's windowsill, looking all...shinigami-y. There was nothing special about her physical appearance; she was wearing the standard shihakusho with her zanpakutou tucked into the side of her obi. She was also very petite. But I did like her hairstyle. Very voluminous at the top, but flared out at the bottom and reaching just below her shoulders, and one thick strand of hair in between her eyes. That had to be annoying.

I didn't pay attention to the details of what happened after. I'm assuming Ichigo noticed her sudden intrusion and confronted her. They talked for quite a bit afterwards. I was surprised the rest of the house wasn't awoken by their extremely loud bantering.

But gods, I was bored. The chooclate I had brought with me was long gone, and I was really tempted to break into the house to grab a few food items. And use the bathroom.

I heard a faint noise in the distance and then felt another reiatsu nearby, and this time I was positive it wasn't another shinigami. I made sure I concealed all my reiatsu before leaving my little bush abode and making my way to the front of the house.

I was greeted by the lovely appearance of a giant, ugly hollow. Before I could think of doing anything else, the hollow slammed into the house and came out with Karin Kurosaki in its hands.

Shit. Should I do something? I ran and hid behind some trees as Ichigo stormed outside, the shinigami close behind him looking dumbfounded He charged at the hollow with a chair in his hands-a chair?! What the hell was he planning on accomplishing with that?! My thoughts were proven correct as the hollow easily swatted him to the ground. My ears tuned out every word being spoken as my eyes stayed glued to the scene unfolding in front of me. My thoughts were deciding between wishing I had brought popcorn or debating lending a hand...

The shinigami leapt up and landed a slash on the hollow's hand and it let out a wild howl. It dropped Karin, who landed safely in Ichigo's arms, and retreated away.

I didn't catch much of the conversation that happened afterwards, except for the fact that it was determined the hollow was after Ichigo and not his sisters. Obviously, with his wildly fluctuating reiatsu he was bound to attract some hollow attention. Next thing I knew, the hollow reappeared and let out an enraged roar, and Ichigo ran forward to confront it. Jeez, this kid was really asking for a death wish. The hollow charged towards Ichigo as he stood there helplessly. I was about to leap forward and play hero but was beat to it.

The shinigami planted herself in between the hollow and Ichigo while the hollow planted its ugly mouth into her shoulder, her zanpakutou shielding the rest of her petite body from being totally devoured.

Okay...that was really lame. She could have easily just sliced the hollow's head and this would all been done and over with, but no~. She fell to the ground, and soon dragged herself to the side of the road as Ichigo rushed to her. She was clearly too injured to fight and I was thinking that it might be time for me to make my grand entrance...then I saw the shinigami lift her zanpakutou and turn the tip towards Ichigo

...Was she going to...? She couldn't! But it seemed like she was. 'Ohhhh this is going to be good. And illegal.'

But before she did anything, I heard her say, "My name is Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki."

..._Kuchiki_?! As in the noble Kuchiki clan?! She was related to little Byakuya?! No way she could be his child...I entertained that thought for a while before returning my attention to the little heroes.

The hollow started charging towards them as Ichigo grabbed the blade, "And my name is...Ichigo Kurosaki!" And with that, he rammed the blade into his torso and everything was enveloped by bright light.

* * *

As I walked home I thought about Urahara's knowledge on everything. He had to have known, otherwise he wouldn't have sent me to Ichigo's in the first place. And what was my role in all of this? 'To see if things went smoothly?' Well, I don't know what Urahara's definition of 'smooth' is, but what happened definitely wasn't smooth.

I did jack squat; I basically just sat there with my mouth agape. Admittedly, everything did turn out pretty cool. Ichigo was a pretty badass shinigami, and he handled everything very naturally; easily defeating the hollow while adding in some macho words about 'feeling the wrath of his blade' or something. And yeah, his blade. His zanpakutou was huge! I don't know if that was because of Rukia unknowingly giving him all of her powers or not, but I had never seen one as big as that one. 'Is it even possible for him to become a shinigami? Considering...' I dismissed the thought as I approached the shop.

I entered in and was greeted by silence. Everyone must have headed off to bed. Weird...it was still pretty early in the night. I, however, was pooped. Watching a shinigami battle is a lot more tiring than it sounds. Really.

I got ready for bed and decided to grab a quick drink before. I walked out of my room but before I could reach the kitchen, someone rapped against the front door. I groaned. I didn't want to deal with human beings right now.

But it turns out it wasn't a human being at all.

I opened the door and there, crouched near the ground and clutching at her shoulder, was Rukia, all bloodied and bruised in her sullied shihakusho.

Her breath came out ragged and shallow, "I need...to see...Kisuke Urahara."

* * *

**A/N: Please bear with the slow-ness! I promise there is much more than just a regular OC skipping along with the canon plot-line Shinji will appear...soon! So just hang in there, folks. Also, reviews would be really nice! Otherwise I won't feel motivated to write anymore...So, reviews/thoughts would be very much appreciated! -Anzu**


End file.
